Process of desulphurizing iron, steel, and ferro-alloys and composition of matter for use therein



Patented Aug 11, 1 9 2 7 UNITED STATES I'PATENT' oFFICELI DANIEL n. .mcxson, or BROOKLYN, Nnw YORK, .rosnrn n. snans, on nrooiirmnn,

AND. rnnnrmrcx comm, or wnsrrmnn, NEW JERSEY, assrenons o some 1'. renew, or 'muwxonx, 'N. YWSAID .mcxson AND earn snms as rom'r 'rnusrnns.

rnocess or nesunrnumzme moiz, STEEL, Annmarie-annoys AND comrosrrron No Drawing.

. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we,.DAN 1nL D. Jacxson, residingin the borough of'Brooklynycity. and State of New York, Josnrn D. SEARS, residing in Bloomfield, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, and Fnnonmcx CON- LIN, residing in Westfield, countyiof Union; and State of New Jersey, citizens of the, United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Desulphurizing Iron,'Steel, and

Ferro-Alloys and Composition of Matter for Use Therein, of which a specification,

This invention relates to a process of desulphurizing iron, steel, and alloys thereof,'

and to compositions of matter for ,usetherein, and aims therein. p

I The use of alkaline compounds, notably caustic, soda and sodium carbonate, for' desulphurizing iron and steel has heretofore been proposed.- Y The use of caustic soda is disadvantageous on account of its deliquescence, the very thin fluidity of the slag, the very irritating vapors given off, and, in the case ofcast iron, on account of the effect, discovered by us, ofremoving silicon from the iron.

,The; use of sodium carbonate is subject to the disadvantage that the mass thereof which it is necessary to use the-obtain prac tical results, takes from themetal-a quantity of heat which is disadvantageous as regards the pouring of the metal, especially when thin castings are to be -made; The use ofsodium carbonate is further subject to the disadvantage that it melts slowly owingvto its powder or fine granular form.

e have discovered that a mixture of I caustic soda and'sodium carbonate results in a slag or hqu1d layer which is not so thin and'hence difiicult to handle and volatile, as a slag or liquid layer resulting from the use of caustic soda alone.

We have further discovered that ture' of caustic-soda and sodium carbonate be melted-together or fused, there results a substantially non-deliquescent composition,

one .-which is safe for handling, which is quick-melting when brought'linto contact, "with molten metal, and which acts quickly to desulphurize themetal. y

OF MATTER" FOR USE THEREIN.

the following is ladle after the which desiliconizmg is avoided, or lessened;

in which only a moderate amount of heatisrequired' to meltthe caustic soda and '75 s to' provide improvements [phurizin'g effectis. obtained.

The invention further providesa compo.- 'sition of matter. having the characteristics if a'mix-.

li ase flied April 13, 1923.. Serial at. 681,925..

We have furthervdiscovered that; if the -fused mixture be chilled in cooling, the

time required for melting when subsequently brought into contact with molten metal is still further shortened. The chilling may be produced by pouring the molten mlxture on to a cooled-surface, such as a water- 'cooled drum.

. The present invention therefore'provides a process-for desulphurizing, making use of caustic soda and sodium carbonate in which the slag or supernatant liqui is thicker than that of caustic soda alone, and of suflicient fluidity for internal mobility and easy flow on the surface of the molten metal, and for pouring from the pouring. of the metal; in

sodium carbonate mixture, so that the metal may be allowed to stand in a ladle in contact with themixture for a short time, 2 10 'min'utes, without cooling to anextent whlch interferes with the proper pouring thereof,"

and without thenecessity in ordinary practice, of the metal being heated in the melting furnace or pot to ahigher temperature than ordinarilypracticed in the melting of iron and steel;'and in which a in use above .set forth, and which is only sli htly-deliquescent and conyenient and sa e for handling, The composition is'pref- .erablyf in the form of lumps, flakes, or a cake, asa size. somewhat ,abovepowder pargood desuland for efiecting the desulphurizing action ticles and larger, is found to very. much v 1 facilitate the melting of the composition. According to the resentinvention the mixture of caustic so a and sodiumfcarbo nate' is firstfp'referably fused, and then. formed into cakes f or into coarse broken pieces, the fused mixture '-pref erably being chilled in the'process of.- cooling. A flaky" 7 form analo ous to so-called peanut brittle is the orm in'which the mixturehas been found to give best results in practice. The fused and .chilledmixture has a dense close-grained structure .which has been found. to facilitate its use action, particu:

60 may be generally applied to the desulphurizlarly as regards the time of action, extent the molten metal.

of removal of the sulphur, and the character of the action during melting in contact with The mixture in the form of a cake or in the form of flakes, is placed in a ladle or other receptacle forthe molten iron or steel, before, during, or after the running in of the metal, or otherwise brought into contact with the molten metal, and allowed to act. About three minutes is ordinarily sufiicient time for the fused desulphurizing mixture to act, though a longer time may be necessary 'when' other substances are used with, the mixture, as for example silicon-alloys, which take longer to melt, as set forth and claimed in our Patent No. 1,535,227, granted April 28,1925.

= The preferable proportion of caustic soda n to sodium carbonate according'toiour presbyaskimming' cut experience is 70% soda ash and caustic soda, orthereabouts, all factors considered. However, as small an amount as 5% caustic soda in the mixture is found to.

have important efiects in increasing the activity of the mixture over the action of sodium carbonate alone. Moreover, this amount (5%) is sufiicient to produce a satisfactor fusion of the composition. Wit the sodium carbonate and caustic soda in about the roportion of 70% to 30% used together, the irritarespectively and tion due to the vaporizat on of the caustic soda 1s .not perceptible. The desiliconization is substantially checked- The desulphuriaationis elficient. The slag, while flu1d,'1s not so thin as to prevent its removal plem'ent before-the pour- Alsothe melting of the mixture may be brought ing of the metal. desulphurizing about by the heat of the molten metal without abstracting so much heat asto interfere with the pouring of the metal and its proper flow, nto molds, and ordinarily without the necess ty of. raising the melted metal to lugher temperatures than usually employed.

plied to iron and steel for casting, as it afiects the desiliconization of the iron or steel much less than other desulphurizing agents such as caustic soda alone, and has a stron enough desulphurizing action on poor'an even the worst grades of melted pig iron and scrap H011 to reduce the sulphur content to a percentage below that which'is deemed ob ectionable in foundry practice.

Other proportions than those s ecifically mentioned and other procedures t an those -specifically given,-m ay be adopted without departing from the idea of the invention.

Moreover, it'is understoodthat the invention ing of' metals.

The application is inpart a continuation of our application Serial No. 578,486, filed July 29, 1922. I

he process has special advantages as ap- The desulphurizing mixture comprising alkali-metal carbonates and alkali metal hydroxids broadly, and the process of desulphurizing by means of these mixtures, is

claimed in our co-pending 1- application,

Serial N 0. 538,423, filed February 22,1922. What we claim is 1. A process of desulphurizing comprising treating molten iron, steelyand ferroalloys with a mixture of caustic soda and .sodium carbonate, the sodium carbonate be to claim 1, in which the caustic soda and sodium carbonate are mixed in substantially the proportions of 30% and 70% respectively.

to claiml", in which the caustic soda an sodium carbonate are previously in substantially the proportions of 30% and i 70% respectively, and fused. 6. A process of. desulphurizing accordin to claim 1, in which the caustic soda an sodium carbonate are previously mixed in substantially '7 0% respectively,fused and chilled.

7. A process of desulphurizing according to claim 1, in which 5% or more of caustic soda is contained in the mixture.

the proportions of 30% and.

. '5. A process of desulphurizing according 8. A process of desulphurizing comprissing treating'melted iron, steel, and ferro- 'alloys with a mixture of (gaustic soda and sodium carbonate, the sodium carbonate be ingin sufficient proportion to the caustic soda: as to substantially diminish the desiliconizing action of themixture.

9. A process of desulphurizing compris- 4 ing treating melted silicon-containing 1ron and steel-for casting, with a mixtumof caustic, soda and sodium carbonate whereby the action which caustic soda has in desiliconizing is lessened, the sodium car'- bonate. and the caustic soda being substantially in the proportion of 70%v sodium carbonate to 30% caustic soda.

10. A process of desulphurizing'according to claim 1, further comprising running the molten metal into a ladle or the likeat ordinary running 'tem eratures, meltgig the mixture by the heat 0 the molten me allowing the mixture to act for a short period, and pouring the metal while it is still fluid enough for running into molds.

'11. A composition of matter for use in desulphurizing iron, steel and ferro-alloys, consisting of a fused of sodium carbonate and caustic soda, said mixture having relatively little deliquescence, and

carbonate and caustic soda, said mixture being relatively non-deliquescent, and when heated on molten metal not giving ofi objectionable quantities of irritating vapors, said ingredients being substantially in the proportions of 70% sodium carbonate to 30% caustic soda.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names.

DL D. JACKSON. JOSEPH D. SEARS. FREDERICK GONLIN. 

